Madlyn March is the pseudonym of a writer whose work has appeared in the anthology First-Timers, Black Table, AfterEllen, AfterElton, Complete Woman, The New York Post, Time Out New York, and others. Toni is based on a bully who once tortured her, but the sexual part is all wishful thinking.

Tell us a little about yourself that’s not in your official bio.

I once met Andy Warhol, but I was too young then to know how cool he was. I also used to want to be a dancer. I took lessons and everything. But I gave it up when I discovered writing.

What inspired your story “Reunion” in Spanked?

“Reunion” was mainly inspired by a high school crush, though I didn’t know it was one back then.

When I entered the ninth grade, a really pretty girl entered my class. She had beautiful eyes and super long, super curly brown hair. (Her name was Elizabeth, by the way.) I didn’t know I had a crush on her, because I didn’t know I was gay. I just thought I wanted to look like her.

My arch rival was a girl who lived in the same building as me. She’d been torturing me forever. When she got to know Really Pretty Girl, Really Pretty Girl stopped being my friend. I suspect Arch Rival badmouthed me. I also suspect Arch Rival was gay (she was really butch) and that she had a crush (as I did) on Really Pretty Girl.

Looking back now, I see that Arch Rival may have been threatened by my friendship with Really Pretty Girl because she wanted RPG for herself. Arch Rival may have also wanted me for herself as well.

When I sat down to write “Reunion,” I wondered what would happen if I one day met Arch Rival and we decided to get together sexually.

Lena is also based on another friend of mine that I had a crush on.

You did an excellent job of building up the long-simmering tension between the protagonist, Elizabeth, and her high school bully, Toni, which ultimately culminates in a spanking. I like the idea that there probably was an attraction buried beneath the surface between them way back when, but it only shows up at the reunion. How does the spanking help them exorcise those demons?

Well, first off, thank you for that compliment.

Secondly, you are right. There was an attraction between them way back when, on a subconscious level. Their demons were that they both liked the same girl and that kept them from seeing each other as potential (and more realistic) romantic partners. And Toni’s demon is also that she tried to take Lena from Elizabeth. Toni and Elizabeth can’t get together now, until the past is dealt with.

Spanking lets them do that. Spanking lets Elizabeth exact revenge for the past and Toni repent for it. Some may say Toni wants to be spanked, so she isn’t exactly suffering. But I think there is something about a spanking, where even if the person wants it, it still feels like a punishment. Maybe because we were all brought up to see it as so.

So the spanking, just by its very nature, is a way for Elizabeth to get revenge and a way for Toni to feel she has apologized. But Toni is also apologizing by doing something nice sexually for Elizabeth, by allowing herself to be Elizabeth’s plaything. And Elizabeth is showing she’s forgiven Toni by giving her sexual pleasure.

Elizabeth gets her revenge on Toni also by withholding the spanking at certain points. By withholding the spanking, Elizabeth lets Toni know the rules have changed since they were younger. Elizabeth is in control now and Toni has to respect that.

Ultimately, Toni is enjoying her spanking every bit as much as Elizabeth enjoys delivering it to her. Was it a challenge for you to work in each person’s pleasure in this arrangement?

No, that was not a problem. I like to give and I like to get, so I could easily envision myself as both characters. (Maybe I should have put that in the official bio?)

I also liked that Toni is a butch but clearly a bottom, and she
provokes Elizabeth deliberately into spanking her. Were you trying to
sing the praises of butch bottoms?

I wasn’t trying to do that consciously. This was me just fantasizing what I’d do if I ever met that bully today, and I knew I’d be the one doling out the punishment. I also wanted Toni to be able to apologize for what she’d done, and Elizabeth to give out a punishment to Toni, and having Elizabeth be the top and Toni be the bottom seemed the best way to do that.

But I’ve always liked the idea that a butch is not necessarily a top and a femme not necessarily a bottom.

People are people and they don’t always conform to rigid stereotypes. So maybe that got in there subconsciously.

You also point out that just cause someone’s into spanking doesn’t mean they’re into everything about spanking. “My last lover, Mimi, was fun, but frustrating. She loved to spank me, which was a problem, as I prefer being the spanker. We didn’t break up over that, but it made the sex—at least for me—much less satisfying than it could have been.”

This shows that for some people, they are pretty much only into spanking or being spanked. I was also glad to see you get into the pleasure of spanking someone, because I think the joy of that side often gets lost when we’re talking about spanking. What do you think Elizabeth gets out of spanking other people, and, specifically, Toni? Why is it exciting for her?

I think Elizabeth gets out of spanking other people what I get out of spanking other people. I like spanking because I like giving pleasure.

There’s also something fun about spanking someone the way you want to be spanked, envisioning yourself getting the same spanking they are getting. When you’re spanking, you’re allowed to see pleasure on someone else’s face (and behind) but you can’t get that pleasure for yourself. It’s just out of reach. So that’s very exciting.

I also think Elizabeth likes spanking because she’s a bit of a control freak (as am I).

What’s exciting for Elizabeth about spanking Toni is the fact that finally she gets to exact revenge on her, but also she finally gets to act on this deep-seated, long-simmering attraction. It’s the combo of both those things that makes this spanking more highly charged than if it were just your run-of-the-mill spanking between a long-term couple.

You said in your bio that Toni is based on a bully who once tortured you. Would you ever want to get revenge in the same way your protagonist does?

Interesting question. I would–but only if the bully actually wanted to talk to me and proved herself a nicer person now. But I couldn’t just go up to her and start spanking her. We’d need to have many, many conversations before that took place.

Is there anything different for you about writing spanking erotica vs. other kinds of erotica?

Not really. To me, the rules of writing erotica are the same no matter what fetish the story features. Remember, first of all, that you are telling a story, so character development and plot should be there. In my opinion, the sex should be there for a reason–it leads the characters to an emotional point in their lives. And you shouldn’t write about anything that doesn’t get you personally hot or you won’t get your readers hot.

As a reader, do you have a favorite spanking erotica story?

I actually haven’t read much spanking erotica. In this book, my favorite stories were Shanna Germain’s “Perfect Bound” and your story, “The Depths of Despair.” I liked Shanna’s because it had a woman who looks like a strait-laced librarian but she’s actually very naughty. I’m a sucker for stories like that. And yours was a favorite because it was much deeper and darker than most erotica is; it really breaks a boundary and that’s always good for erotica and fiction in general.

What’s next for you?

More erotic story submissions, reading my story August 21st at In the Flesh, a novel (maybe, if I can ever finish it), and perhaps some more non-fiction.

“All right,” I said, a few minutes later. “I think you’re ready for what I have to give you next.” She dutifully unzipped her pants. “Lie back on the ground,” I said as I rummaged though my bag, wondering what I could use to restrain her and to hit her. Ah. Perfect.

“Ass up,” I said, as I pulled her hands back with my ponytail holder.

I hesitated for a second. Was this right? Would I hurt her too much? It seemed strange to care, considering what she had done to me. But she seemed like such a nice person now, and I didn’t want to do anything that would be too—

“I bet you still hate me for taking Lena from you, huh?” she asked.

Suddenly, I stopped caring about whether what I was doing was right or not. She obviously wanted me to be rough. There was no other reason why she’d bring Lena up after all this time. She was trying to make me as mad as possible so I’d hit her hard. God, she must be dying for a good spanking. Well, she would just have to wait. Wait and suffer.

“No, I don’t hate you for taking Lena,” I lied, gently massaging her bare ass with the back of my metal hairbrush. “But I bet you wish I did. I bet you’d like to feel the sting of this. It’ll really hurt when it hits that ass of yours. I’ll whack you so hard, your clit will feel the vibration for days.”

She was breathing loudly. So was I. We were frozen like that for two whole minutes, both terrified and excited by what was to follow.

Then I made good on my promise. Hard.

“Unngghh,” she groaned.

I stuck my fingers under my panties and began fingering myself. When I felt she could take a second hit, I whacked her even harder. And again. And again. The hardest metal hitting the softest skin. Over and over. After each whack, I touched my clit, taking myself just to the edge but not over. I whacked her until those pale globes turned bright red. I whacked her until I was almost ready to come myself. I wanted to put myself in the same place she was: Dying to have an orgasm, but not wanting to end the exquisite torture. Not yet, anyway.